UPSSF to get submachine guns, pistols in ₹10.69cr upgrade

The UPSSF will receive 1,113 submachine guns and 465 semi-automatic pistols as part of the upgrade. The government issued the approval through an official order dated June 19, 2025, signed by special secretary Annavi Dinesh Kumar. The submachine guns will cost over ₹8.69 crore, while the pistols are estimated at ₹2.01 crore.

The Uttar Pradesh government has approved a large-scale arms procurement plan worth ₹10.69 crore for the Uttar Pradesh Special Security Force (UPSSF), a specialised unit modelled on the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), to enhance its firepower with submachine guns and semi-automatic pistols.

UPSSF is a specialised security force, modelled on CISF, tasked with securing VIP installations, courts, airports, banks, and metro stations in Uttar Pradesh. (Sourced)

The UPSSF will receive 1,113 submachine guns and 465 semi-automatic pistols as part of the upgrade. The government issued the approval through an official order dated June 19, 2025, signed by special secretary Annavi Dinesh Kumar. The submachine guns will cost over ₹8.69 crore, while the pistols are estimated at ₹2.01 crore.

The amount will be released under the 2025–26 financial year from the “Machinery and Equipment” head of the UPSSF budget. The weapons are to be distributed among three battalions of the force, which is deployed to guard key locations such as courts, VIP government buildings, metro stations, airports, and banks.

In a parallel move, the state government has sanctioned ₹78 lakh for the Cobra commando unit tasked with high-level VIP security. The budget will be used to procure 100 CZ Scorpion submachine guns, each priced at ₹78,000.

Notably, the UPSSF was constituted on December 31, 2019, in response to a spate of violent incidents within court premises across the state. It became operational in September 2022 with its first deployment of 30 personnel at Lok Bhawan in Lucknow.